22/12/2016 BBC News at One

Two men are found guilty of killing four people in a tipper

the boss of a haulage company and his mechanic.

Mathew Gordon owned the truck which had faulty brakes -

the jury cleared the vehicle's driver.

Three men and a four-year-old girl were killed when the truck

Both men failed in their duty of care towards the public. Matthew

Gordon effectively flouted every rain laid down to ensure safety.

Peter Wood signed off vehicles as safe when clearly they were not.

We'll have the latest from our correspondent who was in court.

of Anis Amri, the chief suspect in the Berlin Christmas

Raids across the country by German police hunting for him -

and there's a European warrant for his arrest.

A lesson from history - Prince Charles warns about a return

to the 1930s over the persecution of religious minorities.

New hope for sufferers of multiple sclerosis -

scientists develop a drug which slows the pace

And speeding up access to the internet - hundreds

of thousands of rural homes are to get faster broadband.

And coming up in the sport on BBC News...

Wales will end the year above England in the Fifa world rankings -

their impressive displays at Euro 2016 means they remain 12th.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

The owner of a haulage firm and one of his mechanics have been found

guilty of manslaughter, after one of their trucks crashed

last year, killing four people, including a four-year-old girl.

The court had heard that the brakes had failed on the 32-tonne truck,

and it careered along a village road near Bath, causing what

the prosecution described as "absolute devastation".

Matthew Gordon and Peter Wood will be sentenced next month.

The truck driver, Phillip Potter, was cleared of all charges.

The boss of Grittenham Haulage and the mechanic now inside this court

building, waiting to be taken to prison. They have been remanded in

custody over Christmas before they're sentenced next year, both

having been convicted of manslaughter. This trial has lasted

about four weeks, and during that time we have heard that the company

was a shambles from start to finish. They did not have a transport

manager overseeing safety. They were not carrying out basic checks on

vehicles. We heard that they just did not have a grip on what needed

to be done to keep a fleet of lorries safe in the modern age. The

prosecution said that this terrible accident, killing four people, was

entirely predictable, the result of poor management and of disregard for

the rules. Police described it as carnage. This 32-tonne truck had

careered down a steep hill, its brakes failing. It was school

pick-up time, and Mitzi Steady was crossing the road with her grandma

when she was hit. She was just four years old. Then, the truck crushed

this car, killing the men inside. Robert Parker and Philip Allen were

heading back to south Wales from a business trip. Their driver, Stephen

Vaughan, was 32 years old and newly married. A spark has gone out in my

heart, even though he's always in there. It's just been horrendous, I

would not wish it on anybody. Sian Vaughan told me that being widowed

so soon after her wedding day had left her heartbroken. All the plans,

the future that we had together, has all been taken away. We were only

married for six months. Especially having to spend your first wedding

anniversary alone was just so far removed from the one that we had

planned. It's just been absolutely horrendous. Tipper truck was

carrying tonnes of aggregate down this steep and winding hill towards

the city of bat that afternoon when it suffered catastrophic brake

failure. The prosecution claimed it was not simply bad luck but an

accident waiting to happen. Experts who examined the brakes said some of

the parts were so rusty and warn that the 11-year-old Lori should not

have been on the road. Phillip Potter was at the wheel of the

tipper truck full stop he told the court he was not aware of the state

of the vehicle and he denied causing death by dangerous or careless

driving. Today, he has been cleared. Phillip Potter told the trial that

as he sat here that afternoon, trying to take in what had just

happened. His boss, Matthew Gordon, came over to him, grabbed him and

said, don't tell the police about the brake warning light. That boss,

Matthew Gordon, has now been convicted of manslaughter. The

prosecution claimed his business, Grittenham Haulage, was a shambles.

Mechanic Peter Wood, who was employed to inspect the trucks for

the company, has also been found guilty on four counts of

manslaughter. This was all very much preventable. Sian Vaughan says she

has been horrified to hear about the state the company kept the truck in,

especially as her chauffeur husband took safety so seriously. A word he

would have used to describe them would have been Cowboys. Because

there's no way that Steve would ever have put anybody's life in danger,

let alone his own. As he left court having been found not guilty on all

counts, the drivers and his sympathies to the families. They're

constantly in my thoughts, and I just hope... Just hope they can

carry on now. His former boss Matthew Gordon and mechanic Peter

Wood will be sentenced in the New Year. Well, Gordon and Peter Wood

showed no emotion at all as they were in court hearing those

manslaughter guilty verdicts and then being told that they were being

remanded in custody to be sentenced in the New Year. In contrast, some

of the families of those who were killed in the crash held one

another, hugged one another and wept I think with relief, because they

wanted strong verdicts in this case, not just because of what happened

but also to send a wider message to the haulage industry. In the last

few minutes, we have had a statement from Avon and Somerset Police. The

fact of the matter is that both men failed in their duty of care to the

public. Matthew Gordon had no transport manager and effectively

flouted everybody Leisha and laid down to ensure safety. Peter Wood

signed off vehicles as safe when clearly they were not. Many of the

faults at the time of this crash were long-standing. And the police

stressing that these families, these bereaved families, now facing a

second Christmas without their loved ones.

Police raids have been carried out across Germany,

as they search for the man suspected of the lorry attack

They are looking for Anis Amri, a Tunisian, whose identification

papers were found in the lorry which was driven into shoppers,

killing 12 people and injuring another 49.

A Europe-wide warrant for the suspect's arrest has been issued,

and his brother has called on him to give himself up.

Here's our correspondent Richard Galpin.

The prime suspect, 24-year-old Anis Amri, is being hunted across Europe.

But he uses many different names and nationalities, making it easier for

him to slip away. This video Anis Amri which has just emerged shows he

was in Berlin in September. And early this morning, police commandos

trying to track him down raided apartments here in this district of

the city. Apparently thinking they might find him here - out to no

avail. They're playing catch-up. They only named him as a suspect

yesterday, three days after the attack. A second raid this morning

at this migrant centre in north-western Germany also revealed

little. Amri had briefly stayed here when he first arrived in Germany

last year, but is now long gone. But while Amri remains elusive for now,

much more has been revealed about him since he left Tunisia at least

six years ago. He moved to Italy, where in 2011 he was jailed for

arson at a school. Then, last year, he entered Germany, where his claim

for asylum was rejected. But the authorities could not deport him

because they did not have the right paperwork. And yes, the German

intelligence agencies knew he had links to an Islamist network. They

monitored his phone calls for months, suspecting he was planning

an attack. But they stopped the surveillance in September. Back in

his hometown in Tunisia, his family are now the centre of attention.

They're horrified that he is accused of involvement in the Berlin attack.

TRANSLATION: I'm shocked, like every Tunisian citizen who heard about it.

When the police came to the house to take my mum, then we knew it was my

brother. But Anis Amri did also have a criminal record in Tunisia. He was

convicted in absentia for aggravated theft with violence. Although Amri

is still on the run, this morning, the market in Berlin which was

attacked reopened. A move designed to show that the Christmas

festivities will continue, despite what has happened. But not without

extra security being put in place. We are still kind of very scared,

because the other markets in Berlin, we never know what happens next all

what could happen here again. I feel it's good that we start again, that

the devil has no part for it, I think so. And also for the world to

say, we go on, we are not afraid, we go on. Although people here are

determined to put on a brave face put it will be hard for anybody to

really relax until Amri and any other suspects are found.

Let's get the latest from our correspondent,

Let's get the latest from our correspondent,

The market has reopened, but with the suspect still at large,

There is unease. The scene here differs in one important respect

from Monday evening. Earlier today, pretty much as the sun was rising,

convoys of lorries arrived and began training giant concrete blocks into

a circle effectively around the market itself. There has been some

criticism of the German authorities in recent days since the attack

about how they did or did not respond to warnings that there might

be a threat to places where the public gather in the run-up to

Christmas. Well, they are certainly trying to show the public that there

is blocks, as well as armed police, patrolling. One thing which struck

me about the mood was just how vulnerable this location was on

Monday. You can see that the streets are absolutely packed here. People

visiting the stores, passing through, and that lorry careered

into so many people, who had nowhere to go. And this large red hoarding,

this is where stores stood until the end of that terrifying few moments,

and this is where people died. As Richard said in his report, nicking

reference to remembrance. These shrines have sprung up this morning,

put up by the stallholders, and they say very simply, in German, we are

morning. -- we are mourning. And our security correspondent

Frank Gardner is with me. The German authorities have come

in for a lot of criticism - how fair is it, and how do you keep

tabs on someone like Amri? I'm afraid there has been a

catalogue of missed opportunities here, not all of which are the fault

of the German authorities. The Germans had refused his asylum

request but were not able to immediately deport him because of

issues with the passport. But there is no question that the police and

intelligence agencies missed opportunities. For example, it took

them 24 hours to find his identity document in the lorry itself which

gave him precious time. They spent too long interrogating the wrong

person because they could not find an interpreter. And perhaps a deeper

problem is that Germany has an absolute aversion to CCTV video

surveillance. It is basically a legacy of being observed by the

Stasi. When it was two countries, east Germany and west Germany, the

east German Stasi spied on everybody. And Angela Merkel herself

grew up in east Germany. So there is an aversion to that. This makes it

very hard to follow the movements of this man. Overhearing Britain, which

is far from perfect, but there is a close co-operation between the

police and MI5, the intelligence agency. So they constantly share

information, working hand in glove, agreeing on the priorities of. If

you're going to actually observe somebody around the clock, it's a

very labour-intensive thing. You've got to swap people, swap watches,

you can't have the same person saying, he is moving now. You've got

to have the old lady pushing the shopping trolley, etc. It all takes

time and people. And there will be continuing

coverage of the manhunt in Germany here on BBC News. And you can keep

up-to-date on the BBC News website. Prince Charles has warned

against intolerance towards refugees fleeing religious persecution,

saying it was reminiscent of what he called the "dark

days" of the 1930s. The Prince of Wales was speaking

on Thought For The Day, He also warned about aggression

towards minorities from "populist Here's our royal correspondent

Nicholas Witchell. He's spoken up for many causes

and been a champion for people His religious convictions

matter to him. He's been appalled by

the persecution of people of faith and particularly of Christians

in countries in the Middle East. It was something he raised

on a visit to Jordan Now, in his starkest warning so far,

in a pre-recorded broadcast on the BBC's Thought for the Day,

Charles has likened the persecution of Christians, particularly in Iraq,

to what happened to the Jews in Nazi We are now seeing the rise of many

populist groups across the world that are increasingly aggressive

towards those who adhere All of this has deeply

disturbing echoes of I was born in 1948, just

after the end of World War II, in which my parents' generation had

fought and died in a battle against intolerance,

monstrous extremism and an inhuman attempt to exterminate the Jewish

population of Europe. That nearly 70 years later we should

still be seeing such evil persecution is to me

beyond all belief. We owe it to those who suffered

and died so horribly not to repeat The Prince concluded his broadcast

with a plea for religious tolerance. Whichever religious path you follow

the destination is the same. To value and respect the other

person, accepting their right to live out their peaceful response

to the love of God. It was an appeal from a prince

who takes his own faith seriously and who believes tolerance of others

is one of its defining principles. A woman and a child have died

in a fire at a house Two other women who managed to get

out of the house before emergency services arrived on the scene

were taken to hospital suffering Essex Police say the victims

were trapped inside the property More than 100,000 people in the UK

have multiple sclerosis. Now, scientists have developed

a new drug which slows down damage The MS Society described

the development as "really big news", saying it "offers a lot

of hope" for sufferers. Let's speak to our health

correspondent James Gallagher. What is the new drug and how does it

work? To understand how it works we need to understand what's going on

in MS. A rogue immune system attacks the brain and that disrupts

electrical signals to the body. The concept of the drug is simple. If

the immune system is attacking the brain, let's attack the immune

system. That's what the drug does. It targets specific components of

the immune system and these trials show in multiple forms of MS it

slows the pace of the disease and that's incredibly important in

primary progressive MS, the form of the disease where patients get worse

over time. There are no drugs at the moment that halted, and that's why

patient groups are so excited. This is certainly big news

with primary progressive What this drug has shown to do

in this phase three trial is to reduce the risk of disability

progression by around 24%. That's really exciting,

because we don't currently have any treatments available for this type

of MS in the UK. It's been considered next year as to

whether it can get a licence to be given to patients, but the big

question about this drug is whether organisations like the NHS will be

able to afford it. James, many thanks.

The owner of a haulage company and a mechanic have been found

guilty of manslaughter, over a lorry crash

Still to come, we are with the refugees celebrating their first

Christmas in the UK after escaping the Syrian civil war.

Coming up in sport at 1:30pm: There's criticism of the review

into George North's head injury, as Northampton Saints avoid

punishment, as the Wales wing was allowed to return to play,

Retinitis Pigmentosa is a rare inherited condition

But now NHS England says it will fund further testing

of a so-called bionic eye implant, which surgeons say can make a real

Here's our correspondent Keith Doyle.

Bionic eyes have been around for a long time in the world of science

fiction but it's only now that they are being used in the everyday real

world. Keith Hayman has been blind for over 20 years. A genetic illness

called retinitis pigmentosa meant he gradually lost his sight, but now

he's got some of it back thanks to this bionic eye. It gives you more

of an interest because instead of walking about in total darkness

everywhere and sitting in total darkness, you've got all these

shapes to work out what they are, windows, lights, people, cars,

everything that with a contrasting colour you can scan and make out,

try and make out what the shape is. Surgeons have had success with

trials, which is a miniature camera mounted on glasses transmitting a

signal to the back of the retina. This stimulates cells to send a

signal to the brain, allowing the blind person to see in a limited

way. Foreigners it's a very important step for people in the

future, for hope, in terms of using electronic coupled devices with the

biological system. This is a first demonstration you can do a very

complex hook up I guess between an electronic device and a complex

biological system, which the retina is. As many as 15,000 people in the

UK have the same condition, although all do not want to lose their sight.

Now ten people will receive implants over the next year, funded by NHS

England. Five at Manchester Royal eye Hospital and the other five here

at Moorfields eye Hospital in London. If it's all a continued

success then more people will get the chance to have their sight

restored with this bionic eye will stop -- this bionic eye. You can see

where things are on the table, they sound like little things but they

mean a lot when you are used to being totally blind. The results of

this wireless device will improve as technology advances, but it's

already transforming people's lives. It's amazing what a difference this

little bit of light can make to your life. Keith Doyle, BBC News. In the

last few minutes a helicopter had landed at Buckingham Palace. It is

thought to take the Queen and Prince Philip for their Christmas break at

Sandringham. Their departure had been delayed because both had been

suffering from heavy colds. Our Royal correspondent Peter Hunt is

with me now. Do we assume they are now recovered and well enough to

travel? I think we can make that assumption. The helicopter had

landed in the last few minutes. It will take off against them. On-board

will be the Queen and Prince Philip. Yesterday, police were at King's

Cross Station in London, at King's Lynn in Norfolk, in order for the

Queen to travel by train. They were stood down at short notice because

the Queen didn't make the journey and we learned both she and her

95-year-old husband had heavy colds. We assume they well enough to make

the journey by a short helicopter ride of some 30 minutes but as

anyone who has had a cold nose, it can take some time to recover. This

couple are 90 and 95. We will see the Queen on Christmas Day. She

usually goes to church by car. Usually in the past, even when he

has been unwell in the past, Prince Philip walks from Sandringham house,

the private house owned by the Queen, to the church. Peter, thank

you. More rural homes in the UK

are to get superfast broadband, after the government said

it was expanding its scheme to areas of the countryside that suffer

from poor internet access. It's spending nearly

?0.5 billion to do so - a move which should benefit more

than 500,000 homes, as our technology correspondent

Rory Cellan-Jones now explains. Connecting rural homes across the UK

to fast broadband has meant an investment of ?1.7 billion

of public money. And nearly all of

that has gone to BT. The company's contracts

with councils and local authorities mean it has to return some of that

money if more than 20% of homeowners sign up

when the fast broadband arrives. Now, the Government says

that this cash clawback, coupled with efficiency savings,

means another ?440 million can be There's a target of reaching 95%

of homes with superfast Ministers believe that's

within reach, and that up to 600,000 more homes and businesses could be

hooked up with the new programme. We will have connected 4.5 million

premises to superfast broadband, of which 1.5 million have taken up

the option of superfast, and that take-up has led to more

money being put back into the system, which means we can

connect those harder to reach premises and make sure they have

superfast broadband too. The woman running BT's broadband

programme says she sympathises with those still waiting

to be connected. If you're one of the have-nots,

it really hurts today, We are really determined

to have a look at how But critics say BT has been

using the wrong technology, hooking up homeowners via a copper

wire to a cabinet, rather than laying fibre-optic cables

direct into their homes. It's one of the more

controversial aspects of it. BT, they went for the we can roll it

out very fast if we go for the partial fibre solution,

that uses fibre to the green street cabinets, and then copper

from there to your home. That allows them to sort of do

50,000-70,000 homes per month. Rival firms, including Sky

and TalkTalk, are now promising they can deliver faster fibre

connections than BT, The funeral has taken place

in Moscow of the Russian ambassador to Turkey,

Andrei Karlov. The country's Foreign

Minister Sergei Lavrov led tributes at the ceremony,

describing Mr Karlov as a man who loved his work,

and who loved life. The ambassador was shot

dead three days ago, while he was giving

a speech in Ankara. From Moscow, Steve

Rosenberg reports. The farewell began at the Foreign

Ministry. Flanked by a guard of honour, Ambassador Carlos lay in

state. Three days after he was assassinated in Turkey. --

Ambassador Karlov. Vladimir Putin came to pay his respects. He is

awarded Andrei Karlov his country's highest honour, posthumous Lee, hero

of Russia. From the president to the widow. Words of comfort. Then the

coughing was brought here, to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour --

the coffin was brought here. The Orthodox priests chanted prayers and

blessings. They sang hymns for the soul of the deceased. It's very rare

foreign ambassador to be killed on duty, said the head of the Russian

church. Andrei Karlov will go down in Russian history as a hero. This

is the man who killed him, and of duty Turkish police officer. God is

greatest he had shouted. Don't forget about Aleppo, about Syria.

They were in mourning today in Ankara at the Russian Embassy. But

heavy security here meant it took some time to deliver the wreaths.

The country's leadership doesn't want this to harm relationships with

Turkey or to weaken Moscow's resolve to fight terror. Steve Rosenberg,

BBC News, Moscow. David Cameron's government promised

to house 20,000 Syrian refugees So far, around 4,500

have come to Britain. Many families have found a new home

in Yorkshire and Humberside, which has taken in more refugees

than any other part of England. Our correspondent Dave Edwards went

to see how they're settling in. For the children of Syria there have

been few causes for celebration over the past five years -

their country ravaged by war. But here in Bradford a smile

is never too far away at this You feel here safety

and everyone is lovely. In Syria, all your cousins,

all your family in Syria, like you're feeling sad just

when you think about your family. Most of these children wouldn't

normally celebrate Christmas at all. Some have been through things

you'd never want your For them, this is a chance

to enjoy themselves. The local vicar has been brought

in to tell the Nativity story. Translating is Roseana, a member

of Syria's Christian minority. She arrived in Bradford

in September. There is still no

water, no electricity. Yeah, but they're trying

to survive with the minimum. Although I'm away from my home,

still I have the same I have this message of peace

and love to my community, At this community has given

them a warm welcome. A chance for the children

to meet someone new. When they come into the centre

the children will be You can see the smiles on their face

and they're talking to each other. There's something I've done today

that's been worthwhile. It's thought about 1700 Syrian

refugees will be settled in Yorkshire by the end of 2018,

hopefully bringing some There is disruptive weather coming

in our direction. Travel was disrupted across the capital. At the

other end of the UK we've had some proper wintry Christmassy weather

with snow over some Highland villages. As you are probably aware,

it's Storm Barbara we are most concerned about over the next 24-36

hours. It is looming in the Western Atlantic. It's intensifying all the

while. It's underneath a strong jet stream which will direct Storm

Barbara up towards the north-west of the UK come tomorrow evening. I had

of that we have the wintry showers across Scotland. Snow down to quite

low levels. A strong wind. It feels cold. Further south are bright and

breezy afternoon. The fog has cleared. In the more southern parts

of the UK into the night, maybe a touch of frost, hopefully the fog

won't be as widespread as it was this morning. The Reina rides across

Western Northern Ireland and the far west of Scotland, the wind

intensifying -- the rain arrives. Barbara arrives on our doorstep. It

will head towards the far north-west of the UK, bringing a combination of

strong winds and heavy rain, very wet to start the day across the West

of Scotland and Northern Ireland, destructive rain and gale is in many

places. The band of narrow but intense rainfall heads down across

the UK are arriving in the south-east later in the afternoon.

It will cause some problems. Behind that it brightens up with some

sunshine but that's only half the story, because later on tomorrow the

winds will intensify further. The core of the strongest winds looked

like being across the far north-west of Scotland, the north-west of the

mainland, the western and Northern Isles, gusts of 80, possibly 90

miles an hour, enough to cause significant power disruption --

travel disruption and power outages. Be prepared for significant

disruption as we had through tomorrow evening. The strongest of

the winds relent but a good old gale blowing as we headed to Christmas

Eve across the North, frequent wintry showers, snow down to quite

low levels. Further south on Christmas Eve are bright and breezy

day, plenty of sunshine. Most of the action is further north. More rain

arriving by the Christmas Eve across the far north-west of Scotland and

into Northern Ireland as the next system arrives. Following a similar

track, the low pressure not as intense. The winds will be just as

strong but watch this space. Within the system and there is relatively

warm air, we could get into mid-teens in one or two black -- one

places on Christmas Day. A band of rain on the cold front sweeps

Southeast with later on on Christmas Day, a band of rain, following that,

lower temperatures which could turn the showers to snow, primarily over

high ground of Scotland. For some offers a white Christmas. Beyond

that, from Boxing Day onwards a transformation, quieter, crisp and

less dry. -- and more dry.